Returning from Antarctica

Travelling

Back into the Drake Passage this day and night where we encountered 40 plus knot
winds and 6 foot swells; it was extremely rough going.

Meals continued to be severed but less and less people
were attending. One passenger fell down some stairs and broke her arm,
another passenger was sitting eating lunch when she was thrown to the other
side of the dining room. I found that laying in my bunk was the only way to
get relief from the stormy weather.

Tuesday, November 27, 2007

We were glad to see land again.

After another long night and morning of similar weather
we finally sited the South American mainland.
Once we turned into the Beagle Channel we began to get relief from the weather
and suddenly the ship was full of people again. Everyone was sad to leave
the Antarctic behind but then everyone was glad to be off the Drake Passage
too.

We spotted an Argentine Navy training ship in the Beagle
Channel which made us all think about how much harder it was for the first
adventurers to sail to Antarctica.

Wednesday, November 28, 2007

Here is a GPS track of the trip we made. If you look
carefully you will see our unplanned rescue trip north and then an about
face once we heard everyone was rescued by another ship.

We docked at Ushuaia harbor in the morning and we left the ship by 8:00 a.m. We
wondered around Ushuaia all morning looking at the gift and tourist shops.
People bought the obligatory soft penguin toy or seal or whale. Ushuaia is a
nice place but there is not much to do there especially before 10:00 a.m.
We finally ended up in a coffee shop which had free Internet access and good
coffee so we spent the rest of our time there until we meet with the tour
group and boarded our bus to the airport. Eventually the airplane arrived
and we left Ushuaia and the Antarctic behind us.

Thursday, November 29, 2007

Capybaras resting from the midday sun.

It turns out that motion sickness can be a gift that
keeps on giving, as Mina used to say. That is I have been motion sick on
land since I landed in Ushuaia on Wednesday.
Every time I sit at my PC to update my trip site and log I get sea sick again;
very strange. I hope this goes way soon because all I have done for the last
30 years is type on one PC or another.

Between feeling sick and updating my site we have been
sightseeing in Buenos Aires. The ingurgitation of the newly elected
president is supposed to occur this weekend I hope it is a peaceful one as
the political square, famous for Evita's speeches from her balcony is right
next to our hotel.

The Antarctic is an amazing but, very hostile place. It
is extremely difficult to get to and leave. One must endure all kinds of
discomfort and cold. The risks of real danger from being in the Antarctic
are extremely high. But then the pleasure of seeing this frozen continent,
its panoramic beauty, and its precious wildlife are worth all the discomfort
and risk.

Well that was my Antarctic adventure; now on to my next
six months world trip.